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lawsuit has been filed by a Hawaii real estate investor and broker against Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo. The plaintiffs, Kevin J. Hayes sr. and Tomoko Matsumoto, claim they were unjustly removed from a $240 million housing development after bringing Ohtani on board to endorse it.

    Hayes and Matsumoto had been working on the project for 11 years before signing an endorsement deal with Ohtani in 2023. They were set to be part of the management team for The Vista at Mauna Kea Resort, a luxury housing development featuring homes averaging $17.3 million each.

    The lawsuit alleges that Balelo began demanding concessions from their business partner, Kingsbarn Realty Capital, and eventually demanded they be dropped from the deal. It claims that Ohtani's agent "exploited their celebrity leverage to destabilize and ultimately dismantle Plaintiffs' role in the project" for personal financial gain.

    According to the suit, Balelo threatened to pull Ohtani from the deal if concessions weren't made, and Kingsbarn fired Hayes and Matsumoto in a "coordinated ambush" after openly admitting that they were doing so to placate Balelo. The plaintiffs stand to lose millions of dollars in compensation tied to projected homebuilding profit, construction management fees, and broker commissions.

    A spokesman for CAA Baseball has declined to comment on the lawsuit.